Thoughts On Family
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Mark thinks about family after he becomes a grandfather. Spoilers for Holidaze. Mark/Lexie, Meredith/Derek


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Grey's Anatomy and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** I love that Mark has a daughter, and is about to become a grandfather. I had to write a fic about it.

* * *

Mark Sloan can't believe he is a grandfather now. It seemed like just yesterday Sloan Riley had shown up at the hospital. His daughter is sleeping, exhausted after twenty hours of labor.

There's a knock at the door. Mark looks up as Derek and Meredith enter the room. "Hey," he whispers, careful not to wake Sloan and his still unnamed granddaughter.

"Hi. How is everyone?" Derek asks. He can't believe his best friend is a grandfather now. It's so surreal. His and Meredith's family is just starting.

"Sloan is exhausted and has been sleeping for awhile, but the baby keeps waking up." Mark realizes he needs to calls Sloan's mother. He isn't looking forward to that conversation, but Samantha deserves to know she's a grandmother now.

"Can I hold her?" Mark reluctantly hands the newborn over to Meredith. He's already overprotective of his granddaughter. That's a weird sentence to think, but he has to get used to that.

"Hello," Meredith whispers in awe. This is the first baby in the group, and she's adorable. At this moment, she can't wait until her and Derek's baby arrives. There's still six more months to go, however.

The baby opens her eyes and yawns. Mark, Derek, and Meredith can't help but melt. Sloan and the baby were both unexpected, but there's nothing wrong with that at all.

Lexie is currently working, but she'll be by to visit with Sloan and the baby in a few hours. She and Sloan became friends a few weeks ago, after Mark finally got tired of the fighting. He sat them down and made them discuss their issues.

"Do you like being a grandfather?" Derek is going to tease Mark about that for a long time. He can't help it.

Mark glares at him, but answers the question. "So far, yes. Baby Girl Riley has just been sleeping and crying. That's not so bad."

"You're going to have a crying baby in the house. And you'll have to change diapers," Meredith points out. She hopes her little sister will be able to handle all of this. Lexie's had several months to get used to the fact that her boyfriend has a daughter and now a granddaughter. It was definitely a big shock at first. Lexie had taken the news that Mark had a daughter hard, and learning that Sloan was pregnant and staying with them even harder.

"The three of us can handle it." Mark was absolutely sure of that. Besides, if he and Lexie had kids someday, they'd have to deal with crying babies too. Wow, having kids after becoming a grandfather was going to be really weird.

Sloan moved around in the bed and then opened her eyes. "Hi. Can I see the baby? Is she okay?" She was already worried about her daughter.

"Yes, you can see the baby. She's still okay, Sloan." Mark smiles at her. He's only known about her for a few months, but he already loves her. He can't help it.

Meredith hands the baby over to Sloan and returns to one of the uncomfortable chairs. She's going to be in this exact same position soon, which terrifies her. It's also exciting, though.

"Hi, little one," Sloan coos. She never expected to become a mother this young, but right night she doesn't regret it. She might after she leaves the hospital. Sloan doesn't know yet.

"Have you picked out a name yet?" Derek questions. He figures that if Mark isn't going to ask, he will. He's curious.

Sloan nods. "I picked out the name a long time ago. I was hoping I could get to use it someday, and now I can."

"Well, what it is?" Mark is impatient to find out his granddaughter's name. He's already nicknamed her Baby Girl, but she needs an actual name.

Sloan laughs, but then winces. "Her name is Carys Sloan Riley. It's a pretty name." Carys chooses that moment to let out a small cry, but she settles down a few seconds later.

"Carys is perfect," Meredith agrees. She can't stop smiling and doesn't know why. She's not even related to Mark, Sloan, and Carys! Then again, her sister might marry Mark someday and they will end up related.

"We should go. Sloan and Carys need their rest." Derek can tell that his wife is tired after a long day of work. Mark also looks like he needs sleep. He was in the delivery room with his daughter, even though he really didn't want to be. He is determined to be supportive of Sloan and her decisions, however.

"See you later," Sloan mumbles. It's obvious she is ready to go back to sleep again. Mark picks up Carys and puts her down in the cot next to Sloan's bed.

Later that night, Lexie stops by to visit her boyfriend and Sloan. Sloan is now wide awake and feeding Carys. "I heard she has a name now." Lexie's happy about Carys' birth, but she still can't believe that if she marries Mark, she'll become stepmother to a girl several years younger than her and a stepgrandmother. It's a little weird, but that's okay.

Mark is still wide awake because he can't sleep for some reason. He's been awake for more than twenty-four hours, but that doesn't seem to matter. He'll sleep later, when he goes home. Mark's going to need some rest before Sloan and Carys come home from the hospital.

Two days later, Sloan and Carys are discharged from the hospital. Mark is happy to be driving his daughter and granddaughter home. Lexie's sitting in the front seat. Everything is going great right now. This is Mark's family. He wouldn't change anything.

Sloan immediately heads for the couch when Mark unlocks the apartment door. She's still holding Carys, but turns on the TV. The volume is immediately lowered so the baby won't wake up. Sloan is still the same person she was back in November and December, but she's thinking of her daughter now. It's important to her that she gets this right.

"You should get rest when you're able to," Mark advises. He doesn't want Sloan to be wide awake when the baby is. She should nap when Carys does. That's what he heard, anyway.

"I will," Sloan promises. She puts Carys in the bassinet and then lies down. She falls asleep immediately. Lexie and Mark do random things around the apartment, careful not to wake either of them.

Later, when Sloan is taking care of a crying Carys, Mark reflects on his life before Thanksgiving, when he didn't even know about Sloan. He had no clue on November 23rd that his life was going forever in a few days.

In only a few days, he went from having no kids to having a daughter. Now, Mark has a granddaughter. He doesn't regret letting Sloan stay with him and Lexie.

There's nothing Mark Sloan would change. He's perfectly happy.


End file.
